Ivanhoe chairperson Robert Friedland
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Africa-focused platinum group metals (PGM) miner Ivanhoe Mines has appointed mine-financing institutions KfW IPEX-Bank and the Swedish Export Credit Corporation (SEK) to arrange project financing for the development of the Platreef project in South Africa’s Limpopo province.
The German government-owned KfW IPEX-Bank and SEK will join Export Development Canada, Nedbank Limited – acting through its corporate and investment banking division – and Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking, all appointed earlier this year, as initial mandated lead arrangers (IMLAs).
The IMLAs have committed to raising a total debt financing of up to $1-billion for the development of Platreef’s first-phase, four-million-tonne-a-year mine, with preliminary expressions of interest currently received for about $900-million of the targeted $1-billion in financing.
This financing will be contingent on a successful due diligence process, including benchmarking the project against the International Financial Corporation’s environmental and social performance standards.
Earlier this month Ivanhoe’s finance team met with all five IMLAs to negotiate a term sheet. This was followed by a site visit to the Platreef project.
"With KfW IPEX-Bank’s and SEK’s involvement, and with the indications of interest received from lenders totalling $900-million, we have great confidence that we will reach our total debt financing target," noted Ivanhoe executive chairperson Robert Friedland.
"We are thrilled by the addition of SEK and KfW IPEX-Bank to the IMLA group [as they] bring extensive experience in mining project finance, in particular in export and import finance, and bring with them the potential for significant German and Swedish government backing," he added.
The Platreef project, which is 64% owned by Ivanhoe, is a tier-one PGM, nickel, copper and gold discovery on the northern limb of South Africa’s Bushveld Igneous Complex, the world’s premier platinum-producing region.